Sara32013 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Hi everyone. I've been occasionally hearing a clunking noise when I turn the wheel for a while now in my '00 Legacy. There also seems to be looseness feeling associated with the noise. The car has new inner/outer tie rod ends, and new struts so I don't believe those to be the issue unless it is the strut mounts. I tried laying underneath of it while someone turns the wheel but I can not pinpoint the noise. It mostly sounds like it's coming from the rack. When I first got the car I believed the rack was bad and my father confirmed this idea but it doesn't leak fluid at all and the steering is very easy so I'm not 100% sold on the idea that the rack is shot. Also, I've always found it difficult to keep it centered in a lane but it hasn't been lined up since I've owned it either. Can a rack go bad without leaking fluids? What are your thoughts? Also, I was sort of tossing around the idea of a manual rack but doing it the correct way. If the rack is still usable I thought about removing the seals and plugging the holes so there's as little resistance as possible and also eliminating the power steering pump and such. My main thought about this was maintenance, I would never have to worry about power steering fluid, less to worry about and such. I don't mind it being a little difficult to steer while sitting still. I use to own an '84 Dodge pickup I drove without the power steering belt for a while. All thought, opinions, and advice are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Alright everyone, I will be linking a video of the sound the car makes when I turn the wheel. In the video, I'm actually not even turning the wheel just playing with the steering wheel as you will see. Also, I don't believe it makes this noise once it gets up to speed it's only while sitting still or going very slow. Thanks for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Best way is to jack the up on jack stands and start shacking a feeling around things. Sounds to me like you have sway links that are bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrayspecs Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I have a similar noise with mine with all new front end parts, except the swaybar links and bushings that is probably where its coming from. i havent bothered to replace them because i want to find beefier bars at the pick a part and just do it all in one go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 I would check your bushings on the steering rack. Whiteline makes some nice polyurethane bushings for our steering rack for around $40. Let us know what fixes the sound for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks for the info everyone. I will check out both of those items as soon as it warms up a bit. I'll say the steering rack bushings seems the most feasible, but I won't rule either suggestion out. Brisky, do you have a link to those bushings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisky86 Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks for the info everyone. I will check out both of those items as soon as it warms up a bit. I'll say the steering rack bushings seems the most feasible, but I won't rule either suggestion out. Brisky, do you have a link to those bushings? https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ZZVM8K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These are the ones I have. I actually installed them originally on my old 93 Legacy and just took them with me when I got this car. Look for install videos on Youtube and the NASIOC thread as it is helpful to know how to install them, as they can be tricky if you do not anticipate what needs to be done in order to install them. I think I had a review on Amazon with some tips on there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Unless the bushings for the rack are torn or bulging then they should be fine. Also if you did front struts but didn't do the insulators or bump stops that will give you some clunks too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrayspecs Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 second on it not being the rack bushings, installed the whitelines on mine and it did perk up the steering input and eliminate my on center dead spot, but did not eliminate the turning clunk at low speed. (everything else on the front of my car but the way bar links ive replaced semi recently ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 So we saw temps in the low 40s today and it was nice and sunny. So I decided to go ahead and attempt the diagnosis of my front end noise. Below I will be a video and a picture. In this video, I'm putting the mic on my iPhone up against the ear part of a stethoscope. The picture shows where the other end of the stethoscope was placed. I think the phone did a good job at capturing the audio. This noise is made by simply playing with the steering wheel. After all of this, I believe my problem must be the steering rack, However, there is a little play in the steering shaft. The car was sitting on a homemade rack which allows it to remain on all 4 wheels so all of this was done with the car on all 4 wheels. With a little effort I could have turned the wheels with the shaft, is that normal, for the wheels to be that easy to turn? It also felt very fragile to me, it felt like the shaft would break if I continued to play with it like such. Does anyone sell a rebuild kit or anything of the such for the steering shaft? So if the rack is bad I will have to replace it. What are my options, which racks will fit without issue? Is it best just to get another Legacy one, they only run $50 at my local salvage yard? What is everyone's opinion on the manual rack conversion? Also, I was under the impression that my front CV axles were in need of replacement. A couple weeks ago I was checking over everything with the front wheels off the ground and the CV axles had an alarming amount of play in them. Today. however, with the wheels on the ground, there was absolutely no play in them. Can't wait to hear everyone's opinion on this. Thanks for the help! http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e151/Sara32013/rack_zpsmxmqy9dx.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRuu Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Steering shaft? Like the linkage with the u joint connecting the column to the rack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Steering shaft? Like the linkage with the u joint connecting the column to the rack? Yes, I apologize. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Left and right or in and out play in a CV axle is normal. Up or down is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 Thank you for that info rumble. Yes I have a tremendous amount of up and down play Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRuu Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Yes, I apologize. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk i was just trying to picture it, the picture looks like just the tie rod boot and I didn't really understand but thanks for clearing it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara32013 Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 i was just trying to picture it, the picture looks like just the tie rod boot and I didn't really understand but thanks for clearing it up. The picture is of the rack, the inner tie rod boot is on the left of the picture. The steering "shaft" can't really be seen in the picture. The picture was just to give a basic idea as to where the noise was coming from. I mentioned the shaft because it had a little play in it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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